Click here for a trail map Cheslen Trail Guide.

The 1,263-acre ChesLen Preserve, established in August 2007, comprises vast agricultural fields, densely wooded stream corridors, two miles of the Brandywine Creek’s west branch, and unmatched panoramic views of classic Chester County farming and fox-hunting countryside. From many points on the preserve, a visitor can gaze for miles in any direction and see virtually no signs of modern development.

ChesLen was the vision of philanthropist H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest, who offered to donate his 568-acre property to Natural Lands Trust. His larger vision for the preserve, though, included a neighboring 500-acre tract owned by Chester County. As an incentive to the county to transfer their property to NLT, he offered a generous endowment restricted to the management of the combined properties. In early 2009 an additional 195 acres was secured from one of the largest properties adjacent to our ChesLen Preserve. The result: the largest private nature preserve in southeastern Pennsylvania, available for public use, at no cost to the public.

History
The Lenfest parcel was once part of a 17,000-acre tract owned by the Texas-based King Ranch. Most of this land was subdivided and sold as conservation lots in the mid 1980s. The historic Unionville Inn occupied a piece of the property along Route 162 until it closed around the same time.

The county parcel was part of a larger property that includes the original site of the Chester County Poorhouse, built in 1798. Expanded over the years to include an asylum for the mentally ill, it eventually became the Embreeville State Mental Hospital in the 1940s. A potter’s field established in 1800 still sits on the property, with several hundred unmarked graves where early residents of the poorhouse and asylum are buried.

Stargazer’s Stone is a small monument constructed in 1764 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, marking the spot from which they made measurements between 1764 and 1768 as part of their historic surveying expedition. The Stone sits a few hundred yards north of the Brandywine, surrounded by private property, though the monument is technically part of ChesLen.

Highlights

	Nearly 12 miles of unpaved trails ranging from easy to moderate
	Birds include Indigo Bunting, Downy Woodpecker, and Green-backed Heron; part of the Laurels, King Ranch, and Stroud "Important Bird Area"
	Hoseback riding on designated trails under good conditions (not wet or muddy); horse trailers are not permitted
	Kayaking/canoeing permitted (call for more information)
	9 acres of serpentine barrens, a rare habitat for at least 15 plant species of special concern in Pennsylvania
	Native grass meadows with broomsedge, little bluestem, and Indian-grass
	2 miles of the West Branch of the Brandywine Creek
	Agricultural fields of soybean and hay
	Stargazer's Stone, a reference point from which Mason and Dixon made measurements as part of their historic surveying expedition

Partners
Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest; Chester County Commissioners Carol Aichele, Patrick O’Donnell and Donald Mancini; Chester County Parks and Recreation Board; State Senator Andy Dinniman and State Representative Chris Ross.

In 2009 H.F. Lenfest, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Chester County Preservation Partnership Program, and the William Penn Foundation came together in acquiring the additional 195 acres of unprotected property adjacent to ChesLen.

The Preserve is open from sunrise to sunset.